


Revelations

by JustHereForLaughs



Category: Sherlock Holmes (Downey films)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Mary Ships It, Mrs. Hudson Ships It, One Shot, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:16:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26797231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustHereForLaughs/pseuds/JustHereForLaughs
Summary: Sherlock comes back two years after falling over the waterfall.  John reacts poorly so Mary steps in.
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Kudos: 59





	Revelations

Sherlock was back and standing in his room. John stood in shocked silence.

“Well, this is something. I wasn’t expecting you to come in here,” Sherlock said looking around the messy room. He started rummaging around in the drawers and cluttered desk.

John's brain finally decided on an emotion. “No. You don’t get to come in here after all this time and just start messing with my stuff!” he shouted, “Two years Sherlock. No word that you were alive. How...no. I’m not doing this.” His voice started to break. He pointed to the door. “Get out,” he whispered.

Sherlock had stopped what he was doing. He looked at John wondering if he was serious. He wished he couldn’t read people as well as he did. It forced him to see all of the anger as well as grief and confusion. Sherlock was hurt. He wasn’t sure what reaction his arrival would prompt but this was very unexpected. “Wait, how about you come back to Baker Street with me and I’ll explain everything,” he pleaded. He stepped closer, almost reaching out.

John glared at him. “No. I have a wife and….and a job. You are not pulling me into your absurd life again. Now leave!”

Sherlock frowned. “Ok then. You know where to find me.” He turned around and opened the window. He jumped out onto the road, the same way he had come in.

John sat down on the nearest thing, an ottoman. Tears started running down his face. He couldn’t stop them. He hadn’t meant to be so harsh. He had missed Sherlock so very much. He was back, alive and well and John was so glad for that. But he couldn’t help feeling betrayed. Why had his best friend refused to tell him he was alive? He had let him grieve without any word and then he comes back without any apology and acts like he owns the place.

“John, are you ok?”

John looked up. Mary stood in the doorway. He wiped away his tears with his sleve. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, “It’s just that uh, Sherlock was here, like, alive. I got mad at him and made him leave.”

Mary took a moment to process the statement. “Wait, Sherlock’s alive?”

John nodded.

“Then what were you thinking kicking him out? You should have invited him to stay and have dinner. What in the world were you mad about?” Mary said, reproachfully.

“I guess I was frustrated because he left for two years with no explanation. Then he breaks into the house and starts going through my things. He acted as if nothing happened,” John said.

Mary nodded. “Fair enough but you better go apologize,” she said.

John shook his head. “Apologize for what? I’m completely in the right here.” He looked at his wife. She clearly didn’t believe him. “Besides, if I do that I’m letting him back in to mess with our lives and interfere. The last time you saw him he threw you in a river!”

Mary raised an eyebrow. “Last time I saw him, he was saving your life. I think there is something else.” She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Perhaps the fact that you still love him?” she said more gently.

John was caught off guard. “I’m sorry, what?” he asked, looking up at her.

“I know you don’t love me. Obviously you always had eyes for him.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” John was confused. She wasn’t totally wrong about him not loving her but with Sherlock? That was ridiculous.

Mary was also now confused. “You mean to tell me that your friendship never escalated, at all?”

“Yeah. I mean what else would it be. Sodomy is illegal and even if it wasn’t I’m not...I’m not gay.” He whispered the last words as if he was afraid of being heard; or afraid of them being a lie.

Mary rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to turn you in or anything. There is no point in denying that you have feelings for Sherlock. I’ve known since I first met him. I figured you married me to keep rumors from spreading. As your friend, I was perfectly happy to help you keep your secret.”

John pondered this new insight. The longer he thought about it the more he wondered if she was right. It would explain a lot. Why he put up with Sherlock’s shenanigans for so many years and had followed him everywhere despite obvious health risks. “Even if I did have feelings for him it wouldn’t matter. There is no way he feels the same. He doesn’t really feel emotions, maybe with Irene but that’s it.”

Mary scoffed. “You actually believe that?” she laughed, “He definitely feels emotions, mostly for you.”

John stared in amazement at his wife. “Why in the world do you think that?”

Mary smiled a sly smile. “It’s a lot easier to tell who fancies who from the outside,” she said.

“Fine,” John relented, “I’m not saying you’re right about me being in love with him but I’ll go talk to him tomorrow and...apologize.”

Mary grabbed John’s arm, pulling him off the ottoman and out to the front room. “No. You should really go tonight. Don’t want to let this sit too long,” she said as she shoved him out the door.

John stumbled out into the busy street. He tried to protest but Mary had already shut and locked the door.

John sighed and started walking to his old place at Baker Street. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say when he got there but he didn’t have much of a choice. He stepped up to the door. John removed his hat, took a deep breath, and knocked twice on the door. “Don’t open it, Mrs. Hudson!” he heard Sherlock shout from inside the house. A few seconds later the door opened and John was face to face with Sherlock.

“Hello, John. Come in,” he said.

John had barely stepped across the threshold when his arms were around Sherlock. He wished he could hug him tighter.

Sherlock readily returned the hug. Warmth flooded through him as John embraced him. The anger was gone.

“Welcome back,” John said, patting his back. He pulled away. “I’m sorry that I reacted poorly earlier. I really have missed you so much but tell me, how did you do it, Holmes?”

Sherlock nodded, “Let’s discuss this in my room.” They walked in. It was just as cluttered as it had been when Sherlock had “died”. Mrs. Hudson had refused to rent out the rooms or even clean them out. John sat down in his chair and Sherlock took his place across from him.

“Well, I went out to the balcony knowing I would most likely not come back in. The only way off was over the waterfall. I was able to stall with chess long enough to formulate a plan, mostly. I also knew Moriarty was probably doing the same. It was a risky plan but it was my only chance of defeating him.

John sat silently through Sherlock’s story. When he finished, John stayed that way for several seconds. “Ok. Sounds believable, for you at least. But why did you stay away so long?”

Sherlock glanced down as guilt gripped him. “I had to make sure that Moriarty stayed dead. If I survived, he might have as well. I couldn’t risk him getting to you. Lucky for me, I found his body a few miles downstream. The next concern was the rest of his group. It took me much longer to track them all down and make sure they didn’t pose a threat. I wish I could have come back sooner,” Sherlock said.

“It’s alright. I understand why you did what you did.”

Sherlock was relieved that John wasn’t angry any more. “Well, now that I have told you what I have been up to these last two years. What about you? Your marriage seems to still be a thing. When are you going to get over that?”

John glared at Sherlock but then he remembered what Mary had told him and his gaze softened. “I don’t plan on ‘getting over’ my marriage anytime soon. But these past few years have been all right. I’ve built myself a stable career in medicine. I missed you but I finally was able to not lose a job due to your shenanigans.”

Sherlock rolled his eyes but John could see a hint of disappointment in his friend. _Perhaps Mary was right_ , he thought. He reviewed Sherlock’s actions. How he had tried to stop the wedding, how he had thrown Mary out of the train, all the things Sherlock had done since he had met him. There was no doubt Sherlock had fallen for him. But that was unfortunate for Sherlock. _I don’t feel the same._

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Sherlock interrupted John’s thoughts, “Mary can come too.”

John nodded. “Why not, Sherlock. Mary is still at our house but I can fetch her. She’ll be happy to see you again”

Sherlock smiled. “Then I’ll have Mrs. Hudson set a place for you as well.”

John hugged Sherlock again before going back to his house.

Mary opened the door but didn’t let him in. “You went all the way to Baker Street and talked to Sherlock?” she asked.

“Yes,” John said, “I came back to tell you he’s invited us to dinner.”

Mary smiled. “Great. Let me get ready. You can come back in now,” she said, stepping aside. John waited for his wife downstairs. He hoped she wouldn’t tell Sherlock about what had happened after he had left. He needed time to think about everything. There had been too many revelations today.

Mary appeared at the top of the stairs. She was pretty, John could see that. She hurried down to him and they took a cab to Baker Street.

It was a bit before dinner time when they arrived so they sat in the dining room talking and discussing what John and Mary had been doing while Sherlock was gone. Sherlock could tell Mary was about to explode with excitement and John fidgety and nervous but he couldn’t figure out why. He decided to try and ignore it. It was probably just a couple thing. Mrs. Hudson came in at some point and joined the conversation. She and Mary hit it off right away. The conversation sort of diverged into two. Mary and Mrs. Hudson, and John and Sherlock. Mary was telling Mrs. Hudson about her adventures in gardening and Mrs. Hudson gave her advice. John told Sherlock about the murders that had happened since his “death”. Lestrade was far less popular with the public without Sherlock solving cases for him. Sherlock made a mental note to visit the police station tomorrow.

After a while, dinner was ready. Mrs. Hudson brought it out and set it all on the table while the other three took their places.

“So,” Mary said as they started eating, “did you meet any girls while you were tracking down Moriarty’s accomplices?”

Sherlock swallowed hard, pushing down panic. “Um, no. I...uh...didn’t have time,” he stuttered.

John glanced at his wife. She shot him a sly smile. _Oh no. This is going to be bad_ , he thought. “You never seemed all that interested in girls anyway. Other than perhaps Irene,” John mentioned, trying to save his friend.

Sherlock shook his head. “Romance was not what Irene was. More, her taking advantage of me while I admired her brilliance and let her get away with it. She was much more like a Moriarty than a date.”

John let out a small sigh. He saw his wife give him a slight glare out of the corner of his eye.

Sherlock watched the various glances between John and Mary. Something was definitely up. Sherlock began to wonder if Mary had figured out his secret. _No, she couldn’t have. I’ve only seen her twice. Even I couldn't do that_. He watched John quietly but looked away when Mary looked up from her plate. “So, John,” Sherlock said, “are you still going to help me solve crimes or are you totally devoted to your practice? I was hoping to get my writer back.”

John shook his head. “No, I don't think I’ll have time.”

Mary laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve seen how much you missed going on those adventures. And your readers also miss it. You’ll find time.”

“Remember what happened last time? I couldn’t hold a job for the life of me,” John protested.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Mary said, “You should go.”

The rest of dinner consisted of Mary making similar remarks about John and Sherlock and Sherlock trying and failing to deduce what the odd tension and looks between Mary and John was about.

After everyone had finished eating, Mrs. Hudson cleared the table. Mary rose as she did and said, “Let me help you with that. I’d much like to continue our conversation about tomatoes. I’m sure that Sherlock and John can entertain themselves.”

Sherlock glimpsed Mary winking at John before following Mrs. Hudson into the kitchen. Sherlock had to clean up his rooms so he recommended they go in there. Well, clean was a bit of an overstatement, more cycling of the chaos around to new places.

“So what was going on between you and Mary?” Sherlock asked once they were alone.

John sat down in his chair and picked up a newspaper from the table beside it. “Oh, it’s nothing,” he replied.

“Ah yes. Multiple loaded glances throughout dinner. But it’s nothing,” Sherlock said sarcastically.

John wondered if he should tell Sherlock. He clearly wasn’t going to believe it was unimportant. He decided he might as well. Sherlock was bound to figure it out eventually. “Mary thinks I’m in love with you,” John said. He carefully watched his friend’s reaction.

Sherlock’s stomach dropped. He stopped moving. He was quite glad his back was to John so he couldn’t see his reaction. He hesitated for a moment before asking, “Well, do you?”

“No, of course not,” John said.

Sherlock definitely heard a hint of hesitation in John’s answer. He turned around to face his friend. “Really,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

John looked up at Sherlock. “No.” He set down the newspaper and stood from his chair. When he looked up again Sherlock stood right in front of him.

Sherlock’s heart soared as he realized John wasn’t sure. He had always hoped but now that he knew John felt some sort of attraction to him...it was far more exciting than he could have expected. Even better was the fact that Mary was trying to get them together. If she was, she wouldn’t turn them in. He knew Mrs. Hudson well enough to know she didn’t care either. He quickly looked at John’s lips. He could read John like a book standing this close. Sherlock’s body moved before his mind had fully made the decision. He leaned in and pressed his lips to John’s.

 _Oh God_ John thought after he realized he was kissing back. Yet another revelation for the day, not only did he love Sherlock, he wanted to kiss him far more than he had ever wanted anything. John let go of any sense of integrity he had and gave in. He pushed Sherlock against the wall. He could feel Sherlock smile under the kissing. He ran a hand through Sherlock’s messy hair and pressed his body closer to Sherlock’s .John strayed momentarily down Sherlock’s neck, pleased by the noise Sherlock made. He moved back up to his mouth.

Sherlock wrapped his arms under John’s and pulled him closer by the shoulders. He felt John’s hands run over his torso. His knees nearly gave out at John’s touch. He loved all of it. How John’s mustache brushed his lip, how John kissed more passionately with every passing second, but most of all, how years of pining and waiting had all led up to this moment. He knew what this meant but he felt it wasn’t necessary to say it. They both knew what this meant. Speaking would force them to think. Sherlock refused to think. He tried to memorize how it all felt instead.

The door opened and John and Sherlock jumped away from each other. Mary and Mrs. Hudson stood in the doorway.

John looked from his wife to the housekeeper to Sherlock. “That wasn’t...we weren’t,” he stuttered.

Sherlock muttered something about cleaning the room and reading.

Mary grinned a very happy, proud grin. Mrs. Hudson interrupted their desperate excuses, “Don’t worry, dearie,” she said to Sherlock, “I already knew you like men.”

Mary finally gained control of her voice and let out a squeal. One you, as a fanperson, should know well. “It worked!” she exclaimed and held up a hand to Mrs. Hudson.

Mrs. Hudson high fived Mary and they hugged the two, very embarrassed men. They then retreated back out, leaving them alone to finish what they had started.


End file.
